When the owner shut it down in 2009 — arrested on charges of racketeering and selling prostitution — the windowless building on North Federal Highway became another abandoned property on a rundown commercial drag.

But now the Evangelical Assembly of Christ has made it a place to hold jubilant services, members said. On the first Sunday since major renovations, nearly everyone in the 250-person congregation turned out. The preacher could hardly deliver his sermon over excited applause, said member D'andre Pierre, 12.

Their second service at 1115 N. Federal Highway is 8 a.m. Sunday.

"It was dark when we came here," said Philadele Alezy, secretary of the mostly Haitian church, which relocated from Delray Beach. "Very dark, very bad."

They brushed new white and turquoise paint on the outside brick, installed new carpets and ripped out the stripper poles. The members see their locale as a symbol of Christian salvation.

Their neighbors and community leaders appreciate the bright spot in a part of town where every few storefronts appear dirty and vacant.

Law enforcement agents raided the strip club in October 2009, and the property was abandoned. Neighbors say it attracted vandals.

Darryl Johnson, a funeral director and embalmer next door, called the police when he saw people over there.

"I never knew if they were going to rob here," he said.

Alezy said "it was a shock" when the Rev. Dumont Pierre, pastor of the church, told them where the congregation was moving.

"Are we going to be able to make that place look nice like a holy place instead of a sinful place?" she wondered.

The church paid $600,000 a year ago for the property and spent $100,000, plus hundreds of volunteer hours, renovating it.

When they have enough money, they plan to upgrade a building across the street to create a youth center for the 150 children in the congregation, Pierre said. He estimates that cost at $175,000.

"It's part of our mission to keep the youth from the street," Pierre said.

The 58-year-old pastor from a small seaside Haitian village walked around his new church on a recent afternoon. He pointed to spots on the floor, on the walls, through side doors.

"This was a private section," Pierre said. "This was where they undressed. It's going to be my office."

The church members "consider this a transformation," he said. "We are not going to blame people who came in this situation. The whole world was bad, and Jesus Christ came. He forgave everyone who accepted him."

Thomas Guerrier, a Haitian Christian himself, runs a clothing store south of the church. He said business has picked up for him since droves of people started coming by his shop to help fix up the church and attend services.

"I really appreciate that there's a church there," Guerrier said. "I think that a church is more profitable for the community."